23 August 2006

Stories from 23 August 2006

Barbados: Terrorism euphemism

  23 August 2006

Barbados Free Press calls euphemistic the Barbados's Minister of State's pronouncement that “the threat is “terrorism” itself”.

Bahamas: Not press freedom

  23 August 2006

Lynn Sweeting gets at what may be the real issue behind an English editor's position at a Bahamian newspaper. As one commenter put it, the issue is “the hiring of Bahamian managers, not freedom of the press.”

Nepal: Svankmajer's political allegory

  23 August 2006

Samudaya.org on Svankmajer's Lunancy – “Svankmajer appears in the opening scene to present a short monologue: the film, he says, debates the ideology governing the operation of a lunatic asylum—whether to run on the principle of absolute freedom, or an absolute system of control and punishment.”

Nepal: Nepal and the world

  23 August 2006

Maila Baje summarizes the international politics perspective of the Maoist supremo Prachanda. How and why India chooses to interfere in the country, and has China been fair to the aspirations of Tibetans?

Africa: Is the Battle against AIDS Lost?

  23 August 2006

Forum Realisance believes (Fr) former colonial powers and pharmaceutical companies are partially to blame for the AIDS crisis but saves harsher words for Africans and failed African leaders: ” Ignorance and illiteracy reproduce AIDS blindly without the least use for reason. Isn't it sacred and legitimate to protect oneself? Why...

DRC: BanaCongo Rift

  23 August 2006

At UDPS Liege, BanaCongo representatives deplored (Fr) the decision by some BanaCongo members to issue a declaration in the pressure group's name encouraging the Congolese to remain calm during the electoral period. BanaCongo's President Aubin KIKONKI KINGOTOLO says the declaration was prompted by Joseph Kabila's camp and disavows the members...

Venezuela: Unified Opposition Candidate

  23 August 2006

Daniel Duquenal and Steven Taylor both note that Governor of Zulia state, Manuel Rosales formerly registered as the unified opposition candidate for the December 3 presidential election. Miguel Octavio attended Rosales’ rally, which he photographed and described in detail: “Attendance was quite diverse, not a huge middle class presence, which...

Nicaragua: Election Primer

  23 August 2006

Following a poll which puts Sandinista candidate Daniel Ortega in a comfortable lead, Boz offers four talking points on the November 5 Nicaraguan election.

Philippines: Misleading Headlines

  23 August 2006

The Sassy Lawyer blogs about a misleading headline in the Philippine Daily Enquirer that is troubling one of the people they interviewed recently. Jim Paredes, a Philippine songwriter and musician spoke to the newspaper about his life in Australia as a recent immigrant. The paper published the story with a...

China: Karaoke management

  23 August 2006

The Cultural bureau and Intellectual property rights bureau in China intervene into the Karaoke business, the former wants to control the pool of music and song used in karaoke, while the latter lists the charge for the song's copy rights fee. Jxhill quotes from mainstream media's data saying that the...

Hong Kong: opium history

  23 August 2006

Dave and Stefan blogs a historical legal document showing the history of opium importation from 1908-1942 in Hong Kong.